


drowned

by venomous_syfy



Series: davebot au [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Anyway sorry for killing your not-quite boyfriend, Dave and Karkat aren't dating, Dead Dave Strider, Drowning, Gamzee villainization, Gen, Hurt Dave Strider, Hurt No Comfort, I'm really bad at tagging, Karkat and Rose are friends, M/M, POV Dave Strider, Sober Gamzee Makara, all lowercase
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28972254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/venomous_syfy/pseuds/venomous_syfy
Summary: "let's see how well humans can swim. whaddya say to that, brother?”-----------alternatively, dave strider dies in an alternate universe where gamzee throws him off a cliff. my bad :flushed:
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Rose Lalonde & Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde & Karkat Vantas
Series: davebot au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2125071
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	drowned

**Author's Note:**

> note that i have not read homestuck all the way through yet and this is not meant to fit into canon. this is a completely divergent au that leads up to davebot existing.  
> dave and everyone else are close to 14-16 here, so similar to their ages at the start of the story.  
> dave and karkat do NOT have an established relationship here.  
> also, dave was sort of an ass in the past here.

claws sunk into dave’s throat, holding him above the cliff, ever so slightly away from the edge. dave glanced backwards, shaking as he tried to ignore the blood starting to seep through the areas the claws were gouged into his neck.

“ever wonder how long a lil’ human can hold their breath, dave?” gamzee asked, tightening his grip. dave looked back to see gamzee’s eyes through his broken sunglasses, blood pouring down his face from a giant gash on his forehead.

“uh, not really, no.” dave said, keeping his hands firmly grasped on gamzee’s wrists, hoping that if gamzee _did_ actually drop him, he would be able to hold on to some extent. “my life warranty is something i quite enjoy knowing is gonna last, so i don’t bother trying to actively shorten it.”

“seems like thats what you’re doin’ right here, isn’t it, brother? y’think talkin’ to me likes this is gonna help ya at all?” dave managed a small shrug, holding back a sputtering cough. 

“dave!” a voice from far below called. dave couldn’t make out who it was, and at this point he was starting to lose air from just how tight gamzee was holding onto his throat. “oh my gog, dave!” 

gamzee didn’t take his eyes off of dave. “y’hear that, brother? your little matesprit’s callin’ for you.” dave’s eyes widened slightly. “let’s see how well humans can swim. whaddya say to that, brother?” dave opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, his throat was let go of, and he found himself struggling to hold onto gamzee’s wrists. gamzee pried dave’s hands off his wrists, sending dave plummeting to the bottom of the cliff.

hitting several low points on the way down, dave came crashing into the bottom, a loud crack coming from his bones as he hit the water. he started thrashing around as much as possible, trying to hold his breath, but it was too late: he had already started trying to breathe in, and he was heavily bleeding. this was going to be how he died, fuck.

a pair of arms wrapped around dave’s waist suddenly, but his vision was already blacking out. the next thing he knew, he was being held close to a warm person, both of them coughing aggressively. 

“fucking dammit- you’re so goddamn stupid! please- please stay with me, please- i can’t lose you.” a voice said from above him, and it sounded like they were… crying? dave didn’t reply, instead coughing lightly into the chest of the person holding onto him. he was shaking violently, grasping onto the back of whoever was there. the grasp felt… familiar. so did the voice, but he was too spacey to recognize it.

“dave…” another voice said- this one feminine. “karkat, i don’t think…”

“shut up, rose!” the first person said. “shut up… please, he can’t…” karkat’s voice quieted down slightly, and it was very clear he was crying now. “...can you even hear me, dave? please, if there’s… anything of you left, please…” dave’s grip on karkat’s sweater started loosening and his breath started slowing. karkat tensed.

“h...ey… kark…” dave breathed, resting his head in karkat’s lap as karkat tightened his own grip on dave. “‘m sorry… not feelin… too hot right now… mind if… i take a, uh… small nap?” karkat forced a small laugh.

“please…” dave could feel karkat look away from him and at whoever was nearby, presumably rose, and heard karkat’s breath hitch slightly as he loosened his grip. the sound of his tears were harder to hear or understand, but there was a definite gulp. “yeah, you can… you can take a small nap, dave… sleep as long as you gotta… i’ll be here when you wake up, okay? i promise.” 

“thanks, kark… love you...” dave exhaled, and his entire body tensed for a moment before relaxing. 

_“i love you too, strider.”_

**Author's Note:**

> i swear i know what im doing unu


End file.
